Watching Over You
by Lift the Wings
Summary: Riley has a stalker. Not your average stalker, but one who would rather see her dead than be rejected. She needs to go somewhere safe, so she goes to Hodgins, who would do anything to keep her safe. She meets Zack and sees beyond his awkwardness. Zack/OC
1. Riley Who?

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_, but I seriously love the series. This is going to end up as a Zach/OC. I'd really like to write a Booth/OC but I think people would probably stab me for splitting up Booth and Brennan. Sooo, on with the show!!

Chapter One: Riley Who?

The lights were flashing methodically around me as I tried to focus on what, exactly, had happened. I lifted my head from the steering wheel, feeling as though I had fifty pounds sitting on me. The police scrambled over to my car, pulling the door open and inquiring, concerned, "Miss? Miss, are you all right?"

"I'm okay," I slurred, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. No, I wasn't drunk – disoriented maybe, but not drunk.

"Could you tell us what happened?" inquired the paramedic as they lowered me onto the stretcher, "how did you hit the telephone pole, miss?"

I glanced over at my Jeep, groaning as I noticed the entire front of it was caved in, shards of glass and metal all over the road in the dark night. The other car was no where in sight, but then, I realized that, if the driver was smart, he would have driven off without stopping. It _was_ his intent to run me off of the road; maybe not into the telephone pole, but definitely off of the road.

"A man in his late thirties ran me off the road," I groaned as they applied an ice pack to my head and linked an IV to my arm. My head was throbbing and, if I wasn't so disoriented from the probable concussion, I was certain that the rest of my injuries would be just as painful.

"Did you get a license plate number, miss?" the police officer that followed me to the ambulance inquired. He had a notepad out, ready to take down any details.

"No," I answered, "but I recognized him. He's been… following me…" Growing light-headed, I rested my head on the stretcher, heaving a heavy sigh. I faintly heard the sirens blaring and the voices of the police officer and paramedic trying to keep me conscious.

_Two weeks later…_

The Orlando police department decided that it was safer for me to leave Orlando until the 'offender' was caught. They tried to keep it low-key in the media and tried to downplay it even to me. I rolled my eyes at the thought as I pulled my newly repaired, forest green Jeep Wrangler up to the Jeffersonian Institute.

They asked if there was someone that I could stay with, who would be able to keep an eye on me at all times, just to be safe.

So, here I was. I climbed out of the Jeep and took a deep breath. How would I explain to him why I was here? I didn't want to alarm him, but the entire situation in and of itself was disturbing. I swept back my layered, shoulder-length chestnut hair and observed my reflection in the mirror. I never liked to pretend I was taller than my petite five foot frame, so I had slipped half-inch, tan suede boots on to compliment my light blue denim skirt and tight, pale red shirt. A purse swung carelessly over my shoulder, I looked a lot younger than I was. I looked like I was probably seventeen or so, when in all actuality I was twenty five. It was probably the petite thing and the tiny nose and innocent looking features. Rolling my eyes again, I entered the Jeffersonian Institute.

It was a busy place and appeared to be incredibly interesting. No wonder he liked to work here! This was certainly the kind of place _I_ would like to work. I approached the front desk and smiled pleasantly at the older man behind it. He smiled back, inquiring genially, "Can I help you, miss?"

"Yes, I was wondering if I could speak to Jack Hodgins," I smiled again, "it's very important that I speak to him."

"Of course, follow me, please," he smiled, hobbling out from behind the counter to lead me to wherever Jack was, "what's your name, dear? And what is it that you wanted to speak to Dr. Hodgins about?"

"Oh, my name is Riley," I answered with a small smile, "and the reason I want to talk to him? Well, it's kind of personal, if you don't mind." I was going to have a hard enough time telling Jack why I was here; why would I tell it to a stranger?

"Oh, very well," he answered, gesturing to a door which I assumed was the lab, "he'll be right inside. If Dr. Brennan's in there, I'm sure she'll point out where he's at."

"Thank you very much," I smiled, "you've been very helpful." I entered what appeared to be a lounge of sorts, looking around. There wasn't a single person there. I bit my lip and tried to decide if I should just stay where I was or head off in search of Jack.

Suddenly, the door I had just entered opened and I spun around. There, staring at me in confusion, was a tall, handsome, well-built man. He had chocolate colored hair and matching, puppy dog eyes. He had a ridiculously bright red tie on, and currently had a partially amused, partially curious smirk.

"Oh, um, hello," I smiled nervously, embarrassed. Wow, was that the best I could do? _Way to go, Riles,_ I thought to myself, mentally slapping myself, _embarrass yourself in front of a handsome guy, why don't you?_

"Hey," he answered cautiously, "are you looking for someone? Did you get lost or anything?"

"No," I blushed slightly under his gaze, "but maybe you could help me; I was looking for somebody. Jack Hodgins?"

"Hodgins?" he repeated, as if he didn't quite understand why _I_ would be looking for _Hodgins_, "like, conspiracy theorist Hodgins?"

I nodded, laughing slightly, raising an eyebrow, "He's _still_ into conspiracy theories? What am I going to do with him?"

"I hope I'm not being… rude or anything, but, uh, how do you _know_ Hodgins?" he inquired, obviously completely stumped.

"We go way back," I answered with a slight giggle, "do you know where I could find him? It's very important that I talk to him, as soon as possible if… possible, Mr…?"

"Agent… Agent Booth, FBI," he answered, sticking out his hand and smiling, "and you are?"

"My name's Riley," I answered with a smile, allowing him to take my hand and shake it, "very nice to meet you, Agent Booth. So, _you're _the Agent Booth that gives Hodgins and the rest of his team all of the cases to work on, right?" Okay, Jack definitely didn't tell me how attractive Agent Booth was… not that he would have noticed or anything… but he could have at least filled me in a little more!

"That would be me," he answered with a slight grin, "come on, I was just on my way to give them a new case. I'm assuming you want to surprise Hodgins, right? Otherwise he would be here to meet you?"

"It will definitely be a surprise," I answered with a small frown. I quickly smiled, hoping he didn't catch it. He didn't; we headed into the lab from the lounge and I quickly memorized the route. It wasn't on purpose; I just had a very good memory.

We approached a group of people, making small talk as we went. There were three women standing around something on a lab table. They were staring closely at it, inspecting something on its ribcage.

"Got a new case for you guys," Booth stated, holding up the folder in his hand, "anyone seen Hodgins?"

The three women looked up; one had darker skin with large brown eyes, another had auburn hair with blue eyes, and the last had tan skin with long black hair.

"What's it on, Seeley?" the darker skinned woman inquired in a no-nonsense kind of tone.

"Passed down from headquarters; some swamp mummy or something," Booth answered, making a disturbed face as he handed her the folder.

"Hodgins is looking through his 'arsenal'," the auburn haired woman replied, rolling her eyes slightly, "Zach is with him."

"Who's your friend, Booth?" the black haired woman inquired, smiling kindly at the two of us.

"This is Riley," he answered, hesitating at the fact that I hadn't given him my last name, causing me to smile slightly to myself, "she's looking for Hodgins, so I let her in. Riley," he turned to me, "this is Dr. Cam Soroyan, Dr. Temperance Brennan, and Angela Montenegro."

"Nice to meet you, sweetie," Angela smiled, before raising an eyebrow, "um, what are you looking for Hodgins for?" She seemed almost jealous, as though I were trying to take him away from her. I laughed inwardly; Jack had told me how head over heels he was for Angela.

"I need to talk to him about something," I answered, "I couldn't really talk about it over the phone, and I kind of wanted to surprise him… he doesn't know that I'm coming."

Suddenly, the door to the lab opened and two men walked in. The first, I recognized immediately with a bright smile on my face, was Jack. He was joking with a younger man, who appeared to be a little older than me, though he certainly looked a lot younger than that. He had a mop of brown hair and innocent chocolate eyes. He was incredibly cute in that awkward way. I looked back at Jack, who still hadn't noticed my appearance.

"Captain!" I couldn't help myself from crying. He turned to me and his eyes widened in surprise as he inquired, "Riles?"

I launched myself into his arms and he hugged me tightly, laughing, "Riles, what in God's name are you doing here? Why didn't you at least call first?"

"Okaaay," Booth frowned slightly, his brow furrowed in confusion, "_anyone_ want to tell me what's going on here? Cuz I'm really confused." The others mirrored his look and stared at the two of us, utterly perplexed. Jack and I shared a smile and turned back to the others, his arm still around my shoulders.

"What did you say your last name was again, Riley?" Dr. Brennan inquired, a knowing look in her eyes.

"I didn't," I answered with a laugh, "but, since you're asking, it's Hodgins. Dr. Riley Hodgins."

_**Please review!!! Tell me what you think! I know I didn't put much Zach in it yet, but trust me, there will be more! He's just so adorable! And Booth, he is **_**insanely**_** sexy!! **_


	2. A Little Problem, As It Were

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_ which is quite sad!! Then I would own Zack and Booth!! :/

Chapter Two: A Little… Problem, As It Were

"_What did you say your last name was?" Dr. Brennan inquired, a knowing look in her eyes._

"_I didn't," I answered with a laugh, "but, since you're asking, it's Hodgins. Dr. Riley Hodgins."_

There was stunned silence in the room, aside for my and Jack's laughter. I looked at him and smiled, "Are you surprised?"

"Very," he replied with a grin as I heard Agent Booth say, "_That_… was totally unexpected.", "Riles, what are you doing here?"

"It's a pretty long story," I answered with a sigh, shrugging away from him momentarily, "and I don't think you're going to be very happy about it, either. But first, who's your friend?" I didn't want to be rude, seeing as Zack was just hovering around Jack's shoulder, looking highly uncomfortable.

"Oh, Riles, this is my best friend, Zack Addy," Jack grinned, rolling his eyes at my politeness, "Zackaroni, this is my favoritest, bestest little cousin, Riley."

I smiled up at Zack as he mechanically stuck out his hand, smiling forcibly, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Hodgins."

"Nice to meet you, too, Dr. Addy," I smiled sweetly, fighting the urge to giggle at his adorably awkward look, "but call me Riley, 'kay? I don't really like being called 'Dr. Hodgins' around friends. _And, _it lets everyone know I'm related to him," I jerked my thumb in Jack's direction, causing the others to laugh and him to scoff, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

Only Zack didn't laugh, replying confusedly, "But I thought a woman as beautiful as you would want to be spoken to with the utmost respect."

I blushed brightly and smiled. No one had ever called me beautiful in such a matter-of-fact way, like it was common knowledge. I replied with a small smile, "Thank you, Dr. Addy. But when I talk with people I like and know, I'd rather they call me by my first name. It's more personal."

"You can call me, Zack," he said after a second. I smiled slightly and nodded, "Okay, Zack. And you," I rounded on Jack, " 'favoritest' and 'bestest' are not words. You know how I am with English." I really hated when people used English incorrectly; unless, of course, they weren't from an English speaking country.

"Okay, so now can we discuss why you're here?" Jack inquired, ushering me over to a chair and shoving me into it; obviously his older cousin-protector mode kicked in. Angela and Cam were smiling knowingly, while Brennan studied Zack with her head cocked to the side. Agent Booth just stared at me, perplexed. "Or is it private?"

"Well, I suppose since you're so close to everyone here, you'll just tell them anyway," I answered with an exaggerated sigh. The sigh that followed, though, was real, "I'm in trouble, Jack."

"What happened?" he inquired, immediately concerned, "I never thought you would be one to get in trouble with the law…"

"It's nothing like that," I rolled my eyes, shoving him slightly, crossing my arms, "jeez, what do you take me for?" I smiled slightly, though; he always seemed to get nervous when I got annoyed, "Two weeks ago I was in a car wreck."

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Angela inquired, concerned. I nodded immediately, "My car wasn't, but I'm fine."

"So, physically you aren't in any pain and your car is fixed," Brennan stated matter-of-factly, "what happened?"

"I was in a car wreck," I answered, "not a car _accident_. I was run off the road, on purpose; straight into a telephone pole." I looked at Jack, bracing myself against the chair. He didn't get mad very often, but when he did, it wasn't pretty.

He stood straight, his fists clenched and his eyes blazing, "What do you mean, Riles? Who was it?" His voice was tense and stern, very unlike his normal, carefree tone.

"I don't know his name," I answered, touching his arm to calm him down, "the police couldn't find him, but I figured they wouldn't be able to. He sped off the minute he hit me." I _really _didn't want to have to tell Jack _why_ this whole thing happened, but I knew it was coming. I glanced over at Zack, who met my gaze and bashfully looked away. I smiled, flushing slightly.

"How do you know he meant to run you off of the road?" Booth inquired, immediately in FBI mode, his hands resting on the counter before him, staring at me with a furrowed brow. I felt my face heat up and I avoided all eye contact at this point.

"He's kind of… been… stalking me," I answered, looking up at Jack. His reaction was immediate – and loud; "WHAT?!"

"Hodgins, calm down," Angela stated, jumping up and grabbing his arm. He wrapped his arm around her waist, apparently calming himself slightly before looking back at me, "What's he done, Riley? Why haven't you told anyone that this weirdo's been following you around? How long has it been going on? What…?"

"Hodgins, let her talk," Brennan stated, rolling her eyes slightly.

"It's been about a month and a half," I answered, staring defiantly up at him, "it hasn't been anything too bad. At first I just noticed that he happened to be wherever I was; the mall, the restaurant, the museum."

"You work in a museum, too?" Zack inquired, his innocent brown eyes sparkling with interest.

"Not the time, Zack," Cam stated, shooting him a silencing look. He looked at the floor sheepishly; I assumed this kind of thing happened a lot.

"It's okay, Zack," I smiled, "yeah, I work, well, _worked_ at the Florida Museum of Natural History. I helped design exhibits and, as a botanist and zoologist, I helped collect things for the exhibits. I was…"

"We can have personal time later, Riles," Jack stated, "on with the story. Why do you _always_ attract creepy people? I mean, it's only you. I never did, your brothers never did, your sister never did… just you…"

I shrugged helplessly, raising an eyebrow in irritation, "Anyway, there were a lot of comment cards on exhibits that I had designed or tours that I led, all from the same guy; there was no name, but the handwriting was the same. I saw him put about five in at one time. And then, there were flowers sent to the office, and little trinkets. One of his letters asked me to go to dinner."

"And, as a sane woman who doesn't appreciate creepers, you turned him down," Angela surmised.

I nodded slightly, shrugging, "I didn't even know his name; I never even _talked _to him. So I suppose he didn't take too kindly to that."

"What did he look like?" Booth inquired, "maybe we can get a sketch and run it through FBI database. What kind of car was he driving?"

"You don't have to help, really," I smiled, "even though I appreciate it. The Orlando Police Department said they would look for him. Then again, they're not…"

"… the FBI," Booth and I chorused. I laughed and took the sketch I had drawn myself of my little stalker buddy. Note the sarcasm on buddy. It definitely wasn't worthy of being in an art gallery, but I prided myself in my artistic abilities, "I don't know how much of a help this will be, but this is what he looked like."

Booth took it and grinned, striding immediately out of the room. Saroyan and Brennan ushered everyone else out of the room aside from myself and Jack. Zack hesitated at the door and I flashed him a quick smile. He smiled timidly and I saw an arm reach into the doorway, yanking him out.

I looked up at Jack and frowned, giving him my best puppy dog look. Usually it worked on him, but not this time.

He stood firmly, his arms folded tensely across his chest. He was giving me a hard, accusatory look.

"Oh, come on, Jack," I stated, standing and approaching him, "I didn't think it would get this bad, but you're the first one I wanted to come to. Forgive me?" I gave him a pleading look again, batting my eyelashes.

He broke, sighing and pulling me into a tight hug, "Of course, Riles. Just, stick with me at all times, or one of the others, all right? Except maybe Zack…"

"Why can't I stick with Zack?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow in annoyance, "I thought he seemed nice. And he was cute…"

"_That's_ the reason," Jack replied, glancing at the corpse on the table that I had seen the others talking over before I came in. I glanced down at it as he continued to rant about my stalker and me thinking that Zack was cute.

I wrinkled my nose – I didn't exactly take pleasure in staring at rotting corpses, but I had gotten used to it. I noticed deep gouges in the arm bones that had to have been from an earlier incident.

"Have you ID'ed him yet?" I inquired curiously, slipping on a pair of latex gloves. I had seen marks like this before.

"No," Jack replied, with a sigh, "we haven… Riley, were you listening to me _at all_?" He had an annoyed yet amused look on his face.

"I should have told you about my stalker and no, I don't know exactly how long he's been stalking me," I stated absentmindedly, investigating the wounds on the victim, "I didn't notice it at first. I think Zack is cute; is that such a crime? He seems sweet and I know he's a genius; that's part of what makes him adorable." I looked up to find Jack giving me a good-natured glare and I continued, smiling, "See? I was listening to you. I'm very good at multi-tasking." I turned my attention back to the body; "Do you know what made these marks?"

"Zack and I think it's some kind of knife, but we haven't been able to come up with anything certain yet," Jack replied, staring at the gouges with me, "why?"

"I think… they're from a bear," I stated, prodding the marks, contemplating the possibilities, "bear attacks aren't as common as one would think, but I'm pretty sure that's what these are. I would say they're about ten to fifteen years old."

"A bear?" Jack repeated, his interest piqued, "and a bear mauling would be in the news, right?" His blue eyes were sparkling in excitement.

I nodded, my own chestnut eyes sparkling in response, "Exactly."

"Thanks, Riles," Jack gave me a one-armed hug and ran to the door, "I'm going to find Brennan; you find Zack." I laughed at his excitement and turned, looking around contemplatively.

Where to find Zack?

I headed down the corridor, hoping to find him in the lounge where I had found Agent Booth. I smiled slightly when I saw him sitting on the couch, his eyes closed. I sat down on the couch beside him and his innocent eyes sprang open.

"Oh, Dr. Hod… I mean, Riley… what are you doing here?" he inquired, hesitantly and almost warily, as if I was going to bite him or something. I laughed at the mental image and shook my head.

"I came to talk to you," I answered with a smile.

"Me?" he inquired dubiously, giving me a curious look. I nodded in response; "Is that so weird?"

"Normally, people don't go out of their way to talk to me," he replied calmly, as if it didn't bother him – I wondered if it did, "women most of all. So I can only express my surprise and doubt that you actually wanted to start a conversation with me."

"Well then those people are missing out, aren't they?" I smiled, feeling slightly annoyed that people treated him that way – I didn't see anything wrong with him, except he was a little inept socially, "what if I just _had_ to tell you what I found out about your victim?"

"What did you find?" he inquired, sitting up in anticipation, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"Your victim was attacked by a bear approximately ten to fifteen years ago," I answered, "and someone surviving a bear attack is definitely going to be mentioned in the newspaper."

He smiled slightly and nodded.

"Great; let's go," I jumped up, grabbing his arm and pulling him from the room.

_**Wow, I'm sorry; I posted this and it wasn't finished, which is funny because I had a finished copy. I must not have saved it but that doesn't make sense. So I'm sorry! This is the rest of chapter two! **_

_**These are reviews from Chapters 1 and 2, even though 2 wasn't finished lol!!**_

_**Kudleycraze12321:**__ Thank! I'm glad you like the character description and Zack!!; __**Sadie:**__ Haha, I love Booth and Zack!! I'm glad you like it!; __**Young Grasshopper:**__ Thanks!! I'm glad you like it! I was sad that Zack left too! I wish he was back!!! And yes, Booth in FBI mode is very sexy!!; __**witchbaby300: **__Thanks! I'm glad you like it! I'm a sucker for drama too lol!!; __**angelsgirl116:**__ Thanks! I'm glad you like it! I'm sorry I stole the idea lol!!_


	3. ID'd and Hodgins Family Paranoia

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_ but I wish I did, because then I would own Booth, Hodgins, and Zack :/ That would be AWESOMMMEEE!!

Chapter Three: ID'd and the Hodgins Family Paranoia

"_Your victim was attacked by a bear approximately ten to fifteen years ago," I answered, "and someone surviving a bear attack is definitely going to be mentioned in the newspaper."_

_He smiled slightly and nodded._

"_Great; let's go," I jumped up, grabbing his arm and pulling him from the room._

"So, what you're trying to say is that Riley already ID'd our victim after fifteen minutes and we've been staring at him for a day and a half without any idea of who he was?" Cam inquired of Jack, who just sent me a proud smile from where I stood beside Zack.

Embarrassed, I put in, "Technically, it was Zack who ID'd your victim. I didn't do anything…"

Jack rolled his eyes, but Zack beat him to it, "No, I couldn't have found him without your knowledge on bear attacks, Riley." His wide chocolate eyes met mine and he instantly looked away, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. I didn't take offense to this – in the few hours I had known Zack, I already could tell a lot about him. And the first thing was he wasn't comfortable with making eye contact with women – especially me.

"That's impressive," Brennan looked at the article Zack and I had printed out and Angela's rendering of the victim, which matched our guy, her eyes flitting across the page, "I'll tell Booth to look up Ian Harlow." She looked between Zack and I, stating, "Thanks, you two."

I just nodded and Zack shrugged as if it were nothing, which for him, it probably wasn't. Cam was still staring at Jack, Zack, and I incredulously, before shaking her head and walking off, muttering something about animals and cases to herself.

Jack turned to me and picked me up, spinning me around, "That was awesome, Riley!"

"Thanks, but it was just like what I had to do at the museum," I replied with a slight unimportant shrug, "it would have been a common occurrence there."

"Whatever, Riley," Jack scoffed, "anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if Cam asks you to join the team – we've had more than enough animal and plant-related cases to work with. You'd have plenty to do." He set me back down and grinned at the overjoyed look on my face as I contemplated actually being able to work with the Jeffersonian team.

"That would be incredible," I smiled honestly, excited at the mere thought of being offered a job. It probably wouldn't happen, though.

"Well, I'm going to go see what Angela's doing," Jack wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when I rolled my eyes. He jogged off, leaving Zack and I alone again.

I looked over at the brilliant squint – I had picked that up from Agent Booth already and found it amusing enough that I used it whenever Jack was around (just to him, of course; I didn't want to offend Zack) – and smiled, "So what would you be doing now, Zack, since you have the victim identified?"

"Well, normally what I would do now is return to the lab and try and find what caused our victim to die," he stated, again hardly looking at me, "it shouldn't be too hard – the bones are almost completely exposed and as soon as we remove the rotting flesh, we should be able to determine the exact cause." He paused suddenly and frowned, looking at me cautiously, as if waiting for me to say something… or throw up…

"Oh don't worry," I laughed slightly, "I can handle all of this 'rotting flesh' talk… I just can't watch it while I'm eating. _Then_ I'll throw up," I smiled, feeling giddily satisfied when Zack smiled again, "but what did you mean when you said _normally _that's what you would do?"

"Well, Hodgins wanted me to keep you busy…," he began, fidgeting slightly, "I don't really know what I'm supposed to do… and he said he didn't _want_ it to be me who keeps you busy; I'm not quite sure why…" he trailed off and looked at me. His eyebrows raised in response to my probably livid expression.

"Remind me to kill Jack when we see him next, all right?" I inquired, laughing slightly to try and calm my nerves – Jack practically let Zack know that I thought he was cute! Fortunately for me, he never caught it. _And it's not like I need Jack's permission to spend time with Zack,_ I thought before stating, "But don't worry; I don't mind being with you; as long as you don't mind having me follow you around, most likely pestering you with questions."

He shook his head quickly and I smiled slightly. Excellent.

"Since you're not doing the bones, who is? Dr. Brennan?" I inquired curiously, leading him to the door where we started on our way back to the lab.

He nodded, "I've learned everything I know from her. I've surpassed her, but I shouldn't tell her that, should I?"

"Probably not," I answered with a slight smile, which he hesitantly returned, before opening the door. He looked at it and then back at me, obviously trying to think of something. He looked back down at me and stated, "You can go in ahead of me."

I bit back a smile and entered, "Well thank you, Zack." He was too adorable for his own good. If he wasn't careful, I was going to start liking him. _Jack would be beside himself_, I thought, amused.

"You're welcome," he stated, following me into the room. I looked at the body, before looking back at him, "You know, speaking of not being able to look at mummy-like corpses while I'm eating, I'm pretty hungry and I'd rather not eat in here…" It was my horribly lame attempt at asking Zack to take me to lunch. Honestly, I was horrible at these things. But, if he was supposed to be keeping an eye on me and I wanted to go get something to eat…

"What are you going to do, then?" he inquired – not nastily, just… matter-of-factly, as though I would be more than willing to get away from him. _Pfft, yeah right_, I scoffed to myself.

"Well, since Jack wants you to keep an eye on me and you don't have to work on the body, and I don't know anywhere to eat around here…," I continued, tapering off in hopes that he would pick up on it.

"Agent Booth always takes Dr. Brennan to this one place," he stated thoughtfully, before turning his eyes to me, his brow furrowed up in confusion, "you want to go there?"

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, smiling, "Sure, that'd be fun." I grabbed my purse and headed toward the door, before pausing when I noticed he wasn't behind me. I cast him a curious, confused glance.

"Just to make sure I understand…," he frowned slightly, his brow set in uncertainty, "do you want _me _to come with you?"

"Yes, Zack, I _do_ want you to come with me," I smiled, rolling my eyes good-naturedly, "it'll be fun." He still looked incredulous and skeptical, but left a short note for the others, telling them where we were headed.

ZACKZACKZACKZACKARONI

Well, I knew that Zack hadn't been much of a conversationalist when I first shook his hand. Trying to get him to answer my questions or even just comment on something was like pulling teeth. But he seemed to enjoy my company… I think…

I took a bite of my cheeseburger and watched him stare out of the window. I wondered why people had to be so mean to him. It was obvious that people had mocked him since he was a child because he was so smart. Even his own friends weren't always the nicest to him, but they didn't mean what the others had meant.

"Have you ever been to Florida, Zack?" I inquired, raising a curious eyebrow. He turned back to me; he always got an adorably startled expression when I spoke, as though he couldn't believe it.

"No; Hodgins told me it was nice," he replied cautiously, "do you like it there?"

"No, not really," I answered, shaking my head and laughing, "I mean, I would like to go there on vacation, but I'm not fond of the constant heat, threats of hurricanes and tornadoes… the bugs are probably the worst. That's probably why Jack likes it so much."

Zack let out a slight laugh and I smiled when he said, "It wouldn't surprise me."

Yay! Conversation!

I glanced out of the window, still smiling, and thought I caught a familiar figure standing on the other side of the street. My blood ran cold and my eyes widened, but, when a car passed, no one was there. My pulse still racing, I snapped out of my daze when Zack hesitantly touched my hand.

"Are you all right?" he inquired, his brow furrowed in concern.

"What? Yeah, I thought I saw someone," I answered nervously, before shaking my head and laughing hesitantly, "I'm all right. I thought I saw the guy that was stalking me, but I think I'm just being paranoid. It must be a Hodgins family trait."

"It's completely normal to fear someone who means to do you harm," Zack stated, quickly removing his hand once he realized I would be fine, "but seeing things is illogical."

I laughed, casting a cursory glance at the street again, before shrugging, "Maybe he just looked like someone else. Anyway, you told me Agent Booth loves the pie – I think I'll order a piece."

He just nodded in response and looked around for the waitress. She appeared and I ordered myself and Zack a piece, even though he claimed he didn't want anything. The waitress disappeared to retrieve our dessert.

Zack was silent again, his eyes focused on me, a frown tugging on the corners of his mouth as I glanced out of the window again, my eyes darting around the street, trying to find some sign of my stalker. I _know _that I saw him… but where did he go? And how did he find me?

_**Well, there ya go! I hope you all enjoyed!! I hope that I'm getting Zack's character well enough. Let me know!! Please review! :D**_

_**Young Grasshopper: **__Oh yeah, those guys are so sexy! :D I'm glad you thought he was adorable!! :D; __**Witchbaby300: **__Thanks! Yep, he's starting to like her!! I'm glad you like it!; __**StarlightRoses:**__ I love Zack too! I know; he definitely needs a girl and needs to be back on the show lol! I'm glad you like Riley; __**Sadie:**__ Yep! I hope you enjoyed some more Zack/Riley time! Yup, creepy stalker! And you're absolutely right lol!!; __**Angelsgirl116: **__Haha, all right! :D; __**AddictforDramatics09:**__ I'm glad you like it! I love Zack too!! :D_


	4. Cats and Letters

Author's Note: I'm SOOO sorry it's been a while since I updated last! School was a killer and lately I haven't seem to have too much time on my hands! But there was a Bones marathon on yesterday and I just had to update! Happy late Memorial Day all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones but if I did, I would definitely own Booth and Zack!!

Chapter Four: Cats and Letters

_Zack was silent again, his eyes focused on me, a frown tugging on the corners of his mouth as I glanced out of the window again, my eyes darting around the street, trying to find some sign of my stalker. I _know_ I saw him… but where did he go? And how did he find me?_

It had been a week and a half since I had arrived in Washington, D.C. to get away from my chaotic life in Florida. And funnily enough, I fit in so much better here than I did there. The people here at the Jeffersonian were brilliant and interesting people, all the way from the quirky and innocent Zack to the tough yet incredibly caring Booth. And the best thing… Washington didn't have nearly as many bugs as Florida did. I mean… centipedes and cockroaches? - ugh kill me now!

Anyway, after my impromptu lunch date with Zack and maybe seeing my stalker, Jack didn't really let me out of his sight. Booth didn't either for that matter. I think I became the little sister of the Jeffersonian squint squad because every time I turned around, someone was there, be it Brennan or Jack or one of the others, claiming they were just in the room I was to get something. It had been a hilarious turn of events when Jack had followed me into the Ladies' Room, crying, "God Riles, I am _not_ following you everywhere! I came in here for a reason!" I don't think I'd laughed so hard ever since the whole stalker thing had started.

Good news, though! I was no longer jobless; Jack had been right about Cam offering me a position at the Jeffersonian as part of the beloved squint squad and I readily accepted it. I had my parents ship my things up from Florida and Jack, being the gentlemanly cousin he was, offered to let me stay in one of the wings in his ginormous house. Who am I to turn down free room and board? In a ginormous house?

"Riley, could you take a look at this please?" Cam inquired, ignoring the fact that I was spinning around in one of those spinny desk chairs, "I think we've got some sort of animal attack here but I can't be sure whether it was the cause of death or what kind it was."

"Sure thing," I answered, stopping the chair and waiting for my dizziness to subside. Jack and Zack - the former looking through a microscope and the later studying a battered femur - looked up and I caught them both smiling through my haze.

I reached for the file but, thanks to the double vision, just grabbed at the air. Cam put the file in my hand and, with a 'thanks' headed out of Limbo. Great name, huh?

I shook my head several times, allowing my flared out layers to bounce around my face, trying to focus. When the dizziness subsided and I let out a relieved "Jeez, finally", I opened the file, observing the pictures, humming to myself to try and ignore the severity of the images.

"Okay," I looked up at Jack who was now looking at me in a pair of ridiculously magnified glasses, disbelief and amusement etched on his face, "you're looking at a mutilated body and you're humming _Nights in White Satin_?"

"I know that song," Zack piped up with an adorable grin, before sighing, "not that that's relevant to the conversation…"

"I'm glad you know that song, Zack - it's my mom's favorite song and one of my personal favorites," I smiled at him before turning to Jack with a raised eyebrow, "songs help me focus and not really see what I'm seeing… if that makes sense… it's kind of like my own compartmentalization."

"I do that, too, only I don't really hum when I'm compartmentalizing," Zack rambled, lowering his eyes from mine, his brow furrowed as he continued to talk quickly, "Dr. Brennan said it was the best way to deal with the cases and even though I don't like it, I suppose it's the best way to handle the things that we deal with here, right?" He looked back up at me and Jack, his eyes flitting between us.

"I have no idea what you just said, Zack," Jack laughed slightly, causing Zack to frown and look down at his hands, embarrassed.

I rolled my eyes at my cousin's behavior and replied, "I agree completely, Zack. If you don't separate yourself from the case, even just a little, you can't do the work."

The two squints looked at me in shock, chorusing amusingly, "You understood that?"

I just laughed and looked down at the file, continuing to hum and study the pictures. I could still feel Zack's eyes on me and imagined the look on his face was one of complete shock. I could feel my face heating up as I abruptly shut the folder. The feeling was gone and I breathed a sigh of relief, my face returning to its normal pale hue. Didn't want Zack to see me get all flustered by him, right?

"Cougar," I set the folder down and stood, "maybe…"

"A cougar?" Jack inquired as Zack questioned, "Maybe?" They both paused in their work as I curiously studied the pictures.

"Yeah, well, it's definitely a feline that attacked this person," I answered, my brow furrowed, "but the funny thing is, the marks are too large for a cougar. But it wouldn't make too much sense if it _wasn't _a cougar; there aren't wild tigers or lions roaming around D.C."

Zack and Jack headed over to where I was standing, both looking over one of my shoulders at the images. "See the depth and the distance between each claw mark?" I inquired, "definitely cat but that would have to be one big cougar to do the job. And it was definitely what killed this person."

Zack leaned farther down to examine the pictures and, in doing so, pressed his shoulder against my back and me into the table. I could feel my face heating up and I didn't dare look at Jack - he would be glowering, I knew. Zack's voice was close to my ear as he stated, "Look at the marks around the hands and feet. This person was bound."

"This person was murdered," Jack stated as Zack and I looked over at him. He didn't have a glower on his face - I was surprised to see a knowing smirk there. My brow furrowed and I gave him a 'what's that look for?' look.

He just chuckled and said, "We'd better tell Booth and Brennan about this."

It was then that Zack realized he was leaning on my back. He didn't step back but froze against me, stating, "Oh, I didn't realize I was on top of you, Riley…"

Jack's cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh and I'm sure my face was beat red, my heart fluttering at his words, "Um, it's okay, Zack… let's go find them…"

When he still didn't move, I was sure that Jack was laughing now, his shoulders shaking slightly as he turned away from us. Oh God how embarrassing. I cast a look up at Zack and saw that his face was almost as red as mine, his eyes focused on my face. I smiled and slipped out from between him and the table, grabbed the file, and shoved Jack on my way out of the room.

ZACKZACKZACKZACKARONI

"Booth, Dr. Brennan, we've got a present for you," I smiled as we entered Brennan's office. They had been leaning close, discussing something quietly and jumped away from each other immediately.

"Suspicious much?" I whispered, causing Jack to chuckle and nod.

"What is it?" Booth questioned, standing and heading over to us, straightening his tie. His brow was furrowed as I handed him the case file. Brennan looked over his shoulder at it.

"Big cat," I answered, "this person was killed by a big cat; the area we're in suggests cougar but I'm thinking bigger, like tiger or lion."

"And the way the hands and feet were bound, it's safe to assume that this person was bound when the cat started attacking him," Zack added, looking at Jack and I for confirmation. I still noticed he didn't _quite_ look me in the eye yet.

"Which leads us to believe that someone dumped this person in with a live, large cat in order to kill him," Jack was nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes sparkling at the news that we'd gotten somewhere in the investigation.

Brennan nodded and Booth, though a disturbed look crossed his face, announced that he would be on the lookout for a black market specializing in exotic cats and the zoos around the area.

Brennan looked at me and nudged Booth in the arm, causing him to look over at me. With raised eyebrows, I looked between them suspiciously. Booth grinned charmingly and inquired, "Hey Riles, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Booth," I answered, confused as he grabbed my elbow and led me away from the group. Jack and Brennan began looking over the pictures again but Zack's eyes flitted from Booth to myself, back and forth.

"I have something to show you, Riley," Booth said, his voice calm but concerned, his deep eyes focusing on mine. When I nodded in response, he pulled out a picture from his suit coat, handing it to me.

I accepted it and, upon seeing the image, almost dropped it with a gasp. Booth's mouth was set in a grim frown, "Andrew Fuller, age 34, hometown of Orlando, Florida, 6'2, 184 pounds, blond hair and green eyes."

"That's him all right," I answered handing the picture of my stalker back to him, "how'd you find him?"

"He was in the criminal database for breaking and entering, a few DUIs, that kind of thing," Booth answered and, as I nodded, he sighed deeply, "Riley, the breaking and entering charge; that's new… it was your old apartment."

I looked at him, eyes wide with shock, "He _broke _into my _house_?" I threw my head back and sighed, whispering, "Unbelievable."

"Oh, it gets worse, Riley, trust me," Booth laughed humorlessly, his eyes dark in anger, "the OPD went to pick him up when I sent out the APB but he's gone. A few questions later, OPD found out that he left Florida. Taxi guy said he dropped Fuller off at the airport; he was headed to D.C."

I couldn't believe it. There was no way to express the shock except it was like a blow to the chest or something. He was on his way here; he probably _was_ here. It _had been _him that I saw outside of the café! There was only one thing to say; "Just. My. Luck."

"Don't worry, Riles," Booth grinned suddenly, slinging his arm around me and giving me a slight hug, "we'll catch him before he even sets foot near you."

I laughed slightly and replied, "I'm holding you to that, Booth."

Suddenly, he started chuckling and I looked up at him, perplexed, "What's so funn…" I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Zack, who still stood beside Jack and Brennan.

"King of the Squints is _glaring _at me," Booth laughed slightly, dropping his arm from around my shoulders and looking down at me, smiling, "I think he's got it bad, Riles."

I blushed and looked back at Zack, who finally, _finally_, met my gaze head on. I smiled slightly, noting that his furious glare in Booth's direction melted away when he looked in mine.

Suddenly, Cam walked in with an arm full of roses, followed by Angela with about half a dozen envelopes. I felt my heart drop into my stomach; I had seen this before.

Both women were frowning and Cam offered the roses to me, "Front desk said they were dropped off for you about an hour ago."

"The letters are for you, too," Angela frowned, handing them to me. With shaky hands, I opened the first of the letters, addressed as _Dearest Riley_.

I threw my head back again and let out a long, shaky sigh after reading the first of the letters. Jack yanked it out of my hands; everyone was around me now, intent on seeing what Andrew Fuller had written to me this time.

"'_Dearest Riley'," _Jack read, his brow furrowed, continually casting me concerned glances as he read, "'_I've been so worried about you but am very glad to know that you're all right. You had me worried when you drove off of the side of the road' - _bastard," he growled.

I could feel myself shaking but didn't make a peep. I had been stupid to think he wouldn't have been able to find me wherever I went. He was a _stalker_; that's what they do! No matter what, though, I was screwed. He was here. It was only when I felt the slight pressure on the small of my back from Zack's hand that I calmed. I looked over at him, feeling comforted and relieved, and smiled slightly. He gave me a tiny smile in return, seeing as I didn't pull away from him.

"'_You really should have just accepted my offer when I gave it to you,',"_ Jack continued, "_'I saw you the other day in a café near the Jeffersonian… the man with you had better not be a boyfriend of yours, Riley. If I can't have you…'" _He paused and looked up at me, a mixture of fury at Andrew and concern for me spreading across his face.

"Go on, Jack," I whispered encouragingly, a grim look on my face, "I think I know where this is going."

"'… _no one can'_," Jack sighed, tossing the letter down in disgust, looking up at me and pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back and felt my eyes well up with tears as he muttered, "He's not going to touch you, Riley. I promise."

"Thanks, Jack," I smiled, pulling back from him and stepping back beside Zack, picking up another letter.

"That goes for all of us, Riley," Booth said, a scowl on his face after hearing the letter, "this freak isn't coming near you."

Zack lifted his hand, but it hovered hesitantly by my side. I reached over and took his hand, squeezing it slightly, thankful for his comfort. I knew Zack wasn't very emotional, but I smiled, my heart fluttering, when he squeezed it back.

_**Thanks so much for reading! Please review! I enjoy them so much! :D**_

_**Angelsgirl116:**__ Yeah, Jack is definitely his best friend :D Yes, Riley likes him too!! Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!; __**witchbaby300:**__ Haha, I believe you're quite right! I'm glad you liked it!; __**Bronze Star:**__ Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I wish he was back too, it isn't the same :/ ; __**SwiftDragonfly:**__ Thank you so much! I love Zack too! Fanfics with him are so sweet!; __**Chay2193:**__ Thank you so much! I hoped I was! I loved that line lol I had to write it! I'm glad you liked it!; __**Hakujou Enputi-shigai:**__ Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it so much! Yes, Zack is so adorable and stalkers are totally scary lol!; __**Yanna:**__ Thanks! I'll try to keep that in mind as I continue to write!; __**SubjectiveReality:**__ Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it and yes, I do like to write the fun lighthearted stuff. Thank you so much for your compliments! I really appreciate it! :D_


	5. All's UnFair in Love and War

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_ but I really wish I did! If I did, Zack would definitely be back in the show! :/

Author's Note: I'm soo sorry it took so long to update! I really didn't mean for it to be such a long wait, but you know how life can be!

Chapter Five: All's (Un)Fair In Love and War

"_That goes for all of us, Riley," Booth said, a scowl on his face after hearing the letter, "this freak isn't coming near you."_

_Zack lifted his hand, but it hovered by my side. I reached over and took his hand, squeezing it slightly, thankful for his comfort. I knew Zack wasn't a very emotional person, but I smiled, my heart fluttering, when he squeezed it back._

"All right, so, first order of business," Jack grabbed all of the letters - we didn't even open the others; it wasn't worth it - and the roses and stormed out of the room. I looked over at the others, who all had looks as confused as mine, and tugged on Zack's hand, pulling him out of the room. The others were hot on our heels.

"What's he doing?" Brennan inquired in perplexity, "where's he going?"

I shrugged; knowing how quick of a temper Jack had, he could be up to anything. I released Zack's hand - he hesitated for a moment but did let go, and raced up to Jack, grabbing his arm, "What are you doing?"

"Something you should have done from the start, Riles," he replied firmly, exiting the building and heading into the parking lot. We all followed him as he dragged a trash can into the center of the lot.

He violently threw the letters and flowers into the can, looking around the lot, bellowing, "All right! Come out, come out wherever you are, you slimy bastard! I know you're around here somewhere, watching her! You'd better come out now and show yourself!"

"Jack!" I grabbed his arm, looking around fearfully with the others, "knock it off!! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Anyone got a lighter?" Booth grinned; of course I had known what Jack was planning, but I was hoping he wouldn't do anything drastic like this. He looked between all of us, before Cam sheepishly raised her hand, digging it out of her pocket.

"I get stressed sometimes," she defended herself at our perplexed looks. Booth took it from her, tossing it to Jack. I caught it though, before my cousin could.

"If anyone's going to do this, it's me," I stated, flicking the lighter on and looked around, shouting, "This is what I think of your threats!" I tossed the lighter in the metal garbage can and watched as the paper immediately caught on fire.

Jack grinned, satisfied as he looked around that nobody was around, and draped his arm around my shoulders. He smiled down at me, "I'm proud of you, Riles; see? He's not going to touch you."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, echoing through the lot. Jack's hand gripped my shoulder tightly before going slack. I immediately spun toward him and staggered under his dead weight as he groaned and clutched his side. He grimaced in pain and dropped to his knees as Angela's scream echoed all around us. I fell beside him, terrified, propping him up.

A few more shots rang out and I shrieked, only to be grabbed by Zack, who quickly stated, "It's okay, Riley; it's Agent Booth's gun." He kept his arm around me, but I frantically ripped Jack's shirt open, pressing my hand against his gunshot wound. He hissed in pain, his bright, watery blue eyes looking up at me and I waveringly whimpered, "I'm so sorry."

He grabbed my hand and forced a grimace.

ZACKZACKZACKZACK

I wrapped my arms around myself, ignoring the blood all over my hands and clothes, staring absently at the cool, tile floor of the hospital. The events of the last half hour continually replayed in my mind.

I guess Booth had taken off on foot, Brennan following him immediately. Cam called 911 and Angela dropped to her knees on Jack's other side, weeping and gripping his hand. No matter how hard Zack tried to pull me away from Jack as he slowly slipped out of consciousness, I refused to let go of him, keeping steady pressure on his wound despite my furious, anxious sobs.

The police had showed up not long after, along with the EMT and I refused to leave my cousin's side. I sat with him in the ambulance, getting in the way several times when they tried to do their jobs.

When we finally got to the hospital, I refused to speak to anyone, despite Zack's kind attempts to comfort me as best he knew how (I knew it was awkward for him and really appreciated it, even though I ignored him and hid away from everyone).

I was sitting outside of the operating room now. The bullet was close enough to Jack's heart and left lung that they needed to get him into the OR before I even had a chance to explain anything.

I could see out of the corner of my eye that everyone was there; Brennan had her arm around Angela as she and Cam tried to comfort the distraught woman. Booth had one hand shoved in his pocket as he argued with someone on the phone, probably the director of the FBI. Zack, poor Zack, was sitting beside Booth, his eyes focused solely on me, a hurt, distressed look on his face.

I avoided his gaze, feeling sick to my stomach for doing so, but also for Jack's sake. I stared at the floor, a stricken look on my face, mostly of disbelief and guilt. If it wasn't for me, Jack wouldn't be fighting for his life right now.

I heard a sigh and saw someone kneel down in front of me. I looked over, the look never leaving my face as Booth knelt before me. He patted my knee and gave me a reassuring smile, "Listen, Riley, the doctors know what they're doing. They're going to take great care of Hodgins, don't you worry. And…"

"Did you find him?" I inquired hollowly, looking him dead in the eye, hoping the terror I was feeling didn't show in my voice, "Fuller? Did you find him?"

He sighed heavily, looking down at his shoes, "No, we didn't," he looked back up at me and smiled again, a small, hopeful smile, "but I've given everyone - the police, other FBI agents… _everyone_ - a picture of him and they're going to find him. Trust me."

I looked up at him, my voice breaking as I smiled sadly, "I can't."

He frowned, standing and sighing, walking back to the others. I looked back at the OR doors, which I had been doing for the last twenty three minutes and forty-eight seconds, hoping that the doctor would come out and say that Jack was fine.

The bench beside me lowered slightly. I turned slightly, seeing Zack sitting beside me now. I took a deep breath and looked away. I felt even worse for the way I had been treating him since… the incident… and I couldn't help but feel even more tears welling in my eyes.

"Riley…"

I could feel my chin quivering slightly and refused to look over at him. When I finally did, I couldn't help but let out a small sob. He looked so completely hurt that I wanted to punch myself in the face.

"I'm… I'm not good at this sort of thing," he frowned, his wide eyes avoiding mine and instead looking at my lips, "I have one of the largest vocabularies I've ever heard of, but I don't really know how to use it. But," he heaved a heavy sigh and finally looked me in the eye, "I'm sorry this happened. And it isn't your fault. If anyone's it's Hodgins's himself. He did this, hoping to draw out your stalker. And it worked, didn't it? Please don't blame yourself, Riley. I… I don't like seeing you like this."

That was all it took for my resolve to break. I burst into tears and lunged forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hesitantly hugged me.

ZACKZACKZACKZACK

I heard someone talking quietly, gravely. I groggily opened my heavy, tired eyes and looked up. Zack looked down at me, his hand running gently through my hair as I lifted my head from his lap. I looked down along the bench, where my feet were propped up on Booth's lap. He was sitting beside Brennan, with Cam and Angela on her other side. They were all looking up at someone and I followed their gaze.

A doctor stood before us and I sat up quickly between Zack and Booth. He stopped talking for a minute before looking at me, smiling grimly, "Dr. Hodgins."

"What's going on?" I inquired, "what happened? Is Jack all right?" The words flew out of my mouth before I could even comprehend what was going on.

"Dr. Hodgins, … Dr… Hodgins… is out of surgery now," the doctor stated, holding his chart in front of him, flipping through the papers, "he's in the ICU, recovering. As I was just telling your friends, here, I've got to admit, it's not going great. At the moment, Dr. Hodgins has a fifty percent chance of surviving his attack. The bullet was lodged inside, it didn't go straight through."

Angela let out a strangled sob, blowing her nose. Brennan awkwardly patted her shoulder and we continued to listen to the doctor.

I held my breath, waiting for the rest, my heart pounding at a mile a minute. Zack grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

"We're going to have to keep Dr. Hodgins in ICU for a few days at least," the doctor continued, "we have to be able to monitor his progress and be there in case he needs more surgery or we need to adjust his medication or something like that. Visiting has to be kept to a minimum; we've got a lot of patients in the ICU and we can't make an exception, despite how valuable Dr. Hodgins is to your team. I'm going to have to limit visiting hours to one a day for each person. And visiting can't start until tomorrow afternoon at the latest. It's the best I can do."

I was too tired to protest the ridiculous lack of time we would have with Jack. The others, however, immediately took up the fight, arguing with the doctor about the ridiculous limits. I frowned, resting my head back on Zack's lap, willing my headache away.

"All right, well we're going to put up some limits, too, all right, doc?" Booth inquired, standing, "I don't want anyone else besides the people you see in front of you in there with Hodgins, you got me? You'd better write down these names and get a good look at our faces. Special Agent Seeley Booth. Dr. Temperance Brennan. Angela Montenegro. Dr. Camille Soroyan. Dr. Riley Hodgins. Dr. Zack Addy. I don't want _anyone_ else going in there, you hear me?"

The doctor nodded his head, hurriedly writing down the names and looking fully at each one of us. He nodded again and stated, "If any of you need anything, or if Dr. Hodgins's condition changes, I'll come back and find you or give you a call if you leave the hospital. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, doctor," Brennan nodded, standing up, "come on, Booth. Help me get Angela home." Booth nodded and stood, gently patting my leg before leaving with the two women. Cam stood and said, "I'm going to head back to the lab and let everyone know what's going on, all right? Let me know the minute something happens."

I could see Zack nod and suddenly, we were alone in the hallway outside of the operating room. I sighed heavily, heaving myself up into a sitting position beside him. I looked up at him, no doubt looking like a mess.

"Zack," I took his hand, "I didn't mean to be so cruel to you earlier. It's just… Jack is the closest family member I have. If anything happened to him…," I cleared my throat to rid myself of the lump forming there, "anyway, thank you for everything, Zack. You've been the best and I really appreciate it."

He smiled slightly and hesitantly wiped a stray tear off of my cheek, "I don't really know what to say now, Riley."

"Just say 'you're welcome'," I smiled softly.

"You're welcome," he grinned slightly. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, praying that Jack would be all right and thanking God for Zack Addy.

_**Phew! Sorry it took so long to update everyone! I really hope you're all sticking around for this story, despite my recent lack of updates! Please review!!**_

_**Raine44354: **__Haha I hope you don't mind I stole your idea! But I thought it would be a nice opportunity for things at the lab to get intense!; __**PRloverNickMadison:**__ Thanks so much!; __**angelsgirl116:**__ Thanks so much! Yeah, that would be totally amazing!! Sorry I had to drop the fun stuff for a while lol!; __**Chay2193:**__ Haha yeah it did! I hope the chappie makes up for the wait and I'm glad you love it! Thanks!; __**Jasper's Woman: **__Thanks so much!; __**devilneko247: **__Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it!; __**Hakujou Enputi-shigai: **__Yeah he is! Thanks so much!!; __**Laur_uk: **__Thank you! I really miss him too!; __**tar heels superstar: **__Thanks so much!!; __**RomanticPrincess: **__Haha yeah Andrew definitely is!! And yeah, Zack's a major cutie! Haha aww that's awesome! Thanks so much!; __**pixxie stix: **__Thanks so much! Haha yeah, that would be amazing! I want a Zack plushie!! Or the real one! XD_


	6. Sleep is the Best Medicine

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I really didn't mean to delay this long but things always seem to get in the way!! PS my older brother met Eric Millegan (aka Zack) a few weeks ago! We now have an autograph from him! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_, because if I did, Zack would definitely still be on the show!!

Chapter Six: Sleep is the Best Medicine

_He smiled slightly and hesitantly wiped a stray tear off of my cheek, "I don't really know what to say now, Riley."_

"_Just say 'you're welcome'," I smiled softly._

"_You're welcome," he grinned slightly. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, praying that Jack would be all right and thanking God for Zack Addy._

I must have fallen asleep sometime after talking with Zack, because I was lying on my side on the hard, plastic bench outside of Jack's room. My head was propped up on something warm and I assumed it was Zack's lap. This was becoming a recurring event and I was concerned at the fact that I _wasn't_ concerned.

I felt his fingers absently running through my hair and sighed contentedly. I forced myself up into a sitting position, looking over at Zack with an exhausted smile. He looked just as tired as I felt, bags forming under his now dull chocolate eyes. He must have stayed awake while I slept.

I stood, his eyes following my every move, a questioning look on my face. I ran a hand through my messy hair, stating, "I'm going to call us a cab. But first I need to go fix myself up and find that doctor from before… see how Jack is."

Zack nodded slightly, yawning and leaning back against his seat as I headed off to the nearest bathroom. I grimaced when I looked at myself in the mirror – something I probably shouldn't have done. I splashed a few handfuls of icy water in my face, hoping that would reduce some of the puffiness around my eyes. I fluffed out my hair – it didn't help much – before giving up and heading down toward the reception area.

I glanced out the nearest window and noted the blackness around the hospital. It must've been pretty late then. The hospital was nearly empty and the nurse behind the desk looked absolutely bored.

"Excuse me…," I began before she stood urgently, an almost excited look on her face.

"Are you all right, honey?" she inquired, "what are your symptoms? I'll call for…"

"No," I shook my head and, if I was in a better state of mind I would have laughed, "I don't need a doctor."

She raised an eyebrow and stated bluntly, "Honey, you look like crap." She settled back behind the desk and her expression returned to that of a deathly bored person.

"Thanks," I said, just as bluntly, "my cousin was shot earlier and I would like to know if the doctor that was taking care of him was still here."

She nodded and glanced at her watch. "I'm guessing your cousin's doctor was Dr. Witkowski. He's off in a few minutes; he'll probably stop by and check on him once more before he leaves."

I nodded in thanks and hurried back to the bench where I had left Zack. His eyes were half closed as he struggled to listen to Dr. Witkowski explain something. I reached them and stated hurriedly, "Has anything happened?"

Dr. Witkowski and Zack looked over at me, the latter more alert now than when I wasn't there. Witkowski sighed and I immediately felt bile rise in my throat. That couldn't be good.

"Dr. Hodgins is in very serious condition," he stated, his face settling into a grim frown, "we've done what we can for the moment and, as I was just telling Dr. Addy, he's going to need a lot of strength to recover properly."

I nodded, raising my eyebrows hopefully, "But he _will_ recover?"

Witkowski sighed slightly, stating honestly, "I hope so, Dr. Hodgins. I sincerely do. Now, I'm sure you know there are no visiting hours at the moment and you both look like you could use a good rest. Why don't you and your boyfriend head home and get some sleep?"

I blinked slightly and felt my face heat up as I avoided Zack's gaze. I thanked the doctor and plopped down beside Zack, resting my head against the cool wall behind us. I felt Zack's eyes on me and cursed silently as my face continued to head up. I turned my head in the opposite direction, willing my face to return to its normal, pale shade.

"Why didn't you correct Dr. Witkowski when he said that I was your boyfriend?" Zack inquired, his tone slightly curious.

I continued to look down the opposite hall, chanting, _stop blushing, stop blushing,_ over and over in my head.

"We'd better head home," I opted to avoid the question instead of answering it, uncertain as to why I _didn't_ correct Witkowski, "I haven't called a cab yet, but there's got to be one out there somewhere. This _is_ D.C."

"Booth called when you were gone; he said he was going to come pick us up," Zack stated and, when I finally got the courage to look up at him, I noticed the curiosity burning in his eyes. He was going to question my actions again, but I was anxious about answering.

I stood and outstretched my hand to him. He regarded my hand with a raised eyebrow before accepting it. I hauled him to his feet – not an easy task, mind you, seeing as he was so much bigger than me – and turned to look into Jack's room.

Zack continued to keep his grip on my hand as we began to walk toward Jack's room. He paused though, pulling me back a step or two in the process. I looked at him questioningly as he looked down at our interlinked hands.

"I should let go of your hand, shouldn't I?" he inquired hesitantly, his grip loosening.

I squeezed his hand in response, tightening my grip, "No, you shouldn't." I headed over to the ICU, peering through the window. We had figured out a while ago that Jack wasn't near the windows, but maybe they had moved him.

With a quick scan and a long sigh, I turned back to Zack, unable to see Jack anywhere in the vicinity of the windows.

ZACKZACKZACKZACK

I leaned against Zack as we waited for Booth's SUV to pull up outside of the hospital. We didn't have to wait very long – he came in about fifteen minutes – but both Zack and I were ready to fall over from exhaustion. We were supporting each other so neither of us would fall over onto the hard pavement.

Booth pulled up in front of us and I tiredly pulled Zack over to the SUV, hand-in-hand. I noticed Booth's eyes focused solely on our linked hands and I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. Zack crawled into the back and I slumped down in the passenger seat. Booth looked at us sympathetically, his voice quiet as he inquired, "Anything?"

I bit my lip and shook my head, my brow furrowing in disappointment. Booth's expression matched mine and he squeezed my hand comfortingly. He looked back at Zack and let out a slight chuckle. I glance back and felt a tiny smile crack on my face to find the genius slumped across the back seat, snoring quietly.

ZACKZACKZACKZACK

_This needs to stop happening_, I thought groggily as Booth prodded me in the side. I never fell asleep in random places and this was the third time in a day.

I looked up at him and he gestured slightly to the garage we were parked in front of, "We're here."

I sighed and stretched slightly, looking up at the handsome FBI agent, smiling gratefully, "Thanks, Booth. For everything. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I trust you and your agents completely; I know you'll find Fuller."

Booth grinned slightly and patted my hand, "I know. It happens to the best of us." He glanced back at Zack and rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "How are you going to get him inside? Need any help?"

I looked back at Zack as well and smiled softly, "I'll get him inside. Thanks for the ride, Booth."

He nodded and I climbed out of the SUV, opening Zack's door. He didn't stir as I began gently shaking his arm. "Zack? Zack wake up."

He must have been in a deep sleep, because he remained unmoving and oblivious to me. I looked up at Booth pleadingly and he reached back, hitting Zack's shoulder roughly and yelling, "Get up Zack!"

This had the young doctor scrambling into a sitting position, his wide eyes even wider as he looked around, shouting, "What?"

"We're home, Zack," I stated, smiling and helping him out of the car.

He looked around and stumbled away from the SUV. I turned back to Booth, who had caught my arm. An amused grin was playing on his face and, at my inquiring look, he smirked, "I was going to yell that you were running around without any clothes on to see what would happen, but figured it would just embarrass you."

"Thank you, then, for _not_ saying that," I stated, glad that the darkness was minimizing my beat red face. What would possess Booth to do that? The answer was simple; he was convinced Zack was attracted to me and he wanted to prove it.

Booth shrugged nonchalantly, grinning, "You know it would be funny to see. He'd be up faster than me punching him."

I rolled my eyes and forced the smile threatening to appear to remain hidden, "Thanks for the ride, Booth."

He nodded, a now solemn look forming on his face, "Get some sleep, Riley. I'm sure Cam will call you in the morning and let you come in late or something tomorrow. And we'll have Fuller by this time tomorrow, I promise."

I nodded and smiled. He looked behind me and laughed, "You'd better grab him before he runs into something, Riles."

I looked behind me at Zack and raced forward, grabbing his arm before he staggered into a large patch of rosebushes. He was more tired than I thought. I waved slightly to Booth, my eyelids drooping as I stumbled toward the garage, where Zack lived on the second floor, dragging him behind me.

We walked wordlessly into his makeshift apartment. He stumbled forward and onto the couch. I watched him, slightly amused but mostly worn out. He looked up at me with tired, half-closed eyes.

"Night, Zack," I smiled slightly, leaning down and kissing his cheek before heading toward the door.

"Riley, you can sleep here… if you want," Zack stated, his voice quiet and hesitant. I turned to look at him, my eyes widening with incredulity, "you can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. It's pretty far from here to the house."

I bit my lip, weighing the options. He was right. I didn't even want to lift another foot and the house was hundreds of yards away – past the pond and the tennis courts. I nodded slightly and a tiny grin formed on his face.

_**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chappie! Please let me know! Reviews = love! Btw: next chapter = suspense and fluff all wrapped into one big package! Will Zack and Riley kiss? Will Hodgins survive? Will Fuller strike again?! We'll find out next chappie!**_

_**Raine44354: **__Thanks so much! I know, poor Jack =/ I'm glad you like it; __**tar heels superstar: **__Thanks so much! I'm so glad you like it and I hope he does too!; __**Suezanne: **__Ohhh they will =D I just haven't decided when. It was gonna be this chappie, but I think it'll be the next one!; __**RAMBO112: **__Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!; __**idntlikeurpants: **__Haha I know! I hope he will be too! I'm so glad you liked it!; __**Chay2193: **__Thanks so much! I hope this was a quicker review than last time! I'm sorry it took so long but I'm glad you're sticking around! Oh yeah, she definitely will! And I hope he's ok too!; __**RomanticPrincess: **__I hope so too! Haha He may or he may not! I'm thinking he may cuz he's a mean crazy stalker lol! I'm so glad you like it and Booth will definitely be kicking some ass, unless Riley gets him first!; __**AwesomeQueenoftheLab: **__Thank you for the amazingly long review! I'm so glad you love it! I really appreciate it! And I like when they're related to someone too! Haha I love Zack/OCs. I'm so glad you like it! I'm definitely a Zack fangirl too, which is why I squealed my arse off when my brother met him a few weeks ago! I was sooo jealous!; __**Bella-eclipse: **__Thanks so much! I'm so glad you like it! I refuse to believe it too! Zack would never to anything like that!; __**Hakujou Enputi-shigai: **__Thanks so much! I'm glad it was good enough to be suspenseful!; __**Lupin's Woman NO Touchy: **__Thanks so much! I'm so glad you liked it! I hope this chappie was good – it was kind of a filler, but the next one will be majorly suspenseful! And fluffy! *hinthint*'; __**bluephoenix65069: **__Thanks so much! I'm so glad you liked it!; __**Owl Emporium: **__Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it!; __**Reason-Flower: **__Thanks so much for the amazingly long review! I'm glad you think it's adorable and it brings out your inner kittens-and-teddy-bears-aholic side lol! I'm glad that Riley seems like an individual and not generic! And yeah, Zack can't be in a relationship immediately, cuz that just wouldn't be Zack lol! Thanks for pointing out the errors, I try to get rid of them all but some slip through my fingers lol! Yeah, it is pretty unrealistic for her to just waltz in and get a job, but it was the best thing I could think of when I started the fic lol. I hope this chappie was a little better in regard to the paragraphs and stuff! Thanks again!; __**BrokenAngel16KL: **__Thanks so much! I'm so glad you liked it!_


	7. News

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've been super busy with work and writing my own novels. Speaking of, I need to do a little self-promotion! I have written and published an ebook on Kindle called Running. It's a paranormal romance set in Gettysburg, PA. The main character is a medium on the run from killers who she helped put behind bars. If you like my style and want to help support a fledgling author, please check out Amazon and search for the author Cara McKay and the title "Running". It will soon be available for Nooks and other e-readers. Please check it out and let me know how you like it! I'll put the URL on my homepage for those who want it =D

And hopefully I can update this soon!

Thanks a bunch!

~Lift the Wings


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